FRANKLIN—Southampton, Sussex and Surry counties got a new ally this week in their fight against a proposed Navy outlying landing field.

Acting on a motion by Carrsville District Supervisor Phillip Bradshaw, Isle of Wight County supervisors committed $20,000 to the effort during their meeting Tuesday.

But the new money comes with strings attached.

Isle of Wight supervisors stipulated that Southampton County must join the CASA program in Virginia’s 5th Judicial District before they will actually provide the OLF money. Southampton supervisors had declined during their springtime budget deliberations to spend the 5th Judicial District before they will actually provide the OLF money. Southampton supervisors had declined during their springtime budget deliberations to spend the $18,000 to fund the program.

The Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children program is intended to provide courtroom advocates for children who are victims of abuse or neglect. Funding for the program in Southampton was a victim of tight fiscal restraints this year, which resulted in supervisors declining to fund any new programs.

Isle of Wight’s contribution, if accepted, would fund Southampton County’s participation in CASA at a cost of $18,000 and leave $2,000 to help with the OLF opposition.

Southampton County Administrator Michael Johnson said he had told Isle of Wight County Administrator Douglas Caskey on Wednesday that his Board of Supervisors would consider the proposal during its July meeting.

If the board accepts the deal, Virginia counties will have committed a total of $340,000 to the effort to stop the Navy from building a new airfield in Virginia for pilots to practice aircraft carrier landings.

Southampton and Sussex share two of the sites the Navy is considering for such a facility. Surry has another. Two others are located in northeastern North Carolina.

The three potential Virginia hosts have committed $100,000 each to the fight, while Greensville County has promised $20,000 from this year’s budget.

Most of the money, about $200,000, is being set aside to cover legal fees expected from the Washington, D.C., firm Kutak Rock LLC, which the counties have hired to represent them against the Navy.

Johnson said another $100,000 is expected to be used for putting a noise expert on retainer and hiring a public relations and media specialist.

Attorney Barry P. Steinberg has been given the task of interviewing for those two positions and returning to the counties with recommendations later this year.